Diss. HHL - Leipzig Graduate School of Management, 2008. / Business and Economics (German Language) (Springer-11775) (GWV).

Diss. Univ. München, 2006.

Stephen C. Graves. / "February 1984." / Bibliography: p.36-37.

There is a significant amount of existing research on the topic of project management that dates back to Gaddis’ 1959 seminal paper “The Project Manager”. Most organisations recognise the role that projects play in bringing beneficial change to the business (Cooke-Davies, 2002; Kwak and Anbari, 2008; Maylor et al, 2006; Smyth and Morris, 2007; Kloppenborg and Opfer, 2002) and they increasingly use project management processes to seek to improve business results (Mathur et al, 2007). However, the “projectification” of business has not proved to be the panacea that individuals and organisations hoped (Maylor et al, 2006). Despite the volume of research conducted, limited insight has been made in explaining why project management success rates remain so low (Lyytinen and Robey, 1999; Cooke-Davies, 2002; McManus and Wood-Harper, 2008; Thomas and Fernandez, 2008). Without a single theoretical base for explaining and guiding successful project management, various different theoretical approaches, have been patched together (Winter et al, 2006b), leading to a knowledge base which is “unstable and fragmented” (Cicmil and Hodgson, 2006b, p. 115). Smyth and Morris urge academics and practitioners to work together to find “an eclectic mix” of concepts and theoretical underpinnings to be used to improve project outcomes (2007, p. 423). This research sought to understand the success criteria and critical success factors necessary for successful IS project management in the NHS. Through an ethnographic approach this research, uses academic and professional literature and practical experience, and sought to contribute to the ‘eclectic mix’ of knowledge and contribute to a deeper understanding of what is actually happening inside projects (Blomquist et al, 2010; Cicmil, et al, 2006, Winter et al, 2006b). This research found that those criteria in the iron triangle of success (Atkinson, 1999), particularly adherence to budget and schedule, are still prioritised at the expense of other criteria. It found that the organisation understood the importance of the various critical success factors on the project’s outcome but did not apply them in reality. Finally the research found extensive evidence of magic bullet thinking, a belief that the delivery of the new IT/IS alone would result in business change and benefits realisation across the entire organisation.

It is essential that all countries operate a form of blood banking service, where blood is collected at donation sessions, stored and then distributed to local healthcare providers. It is imperative that these services are efficiently managed to ensure a safe supply of blood and that costs and wastages are kept minimal. Previous works in the area of blood management have focussed primarily on the perishable inventory problem and on routing blood deliveries to hospitals; there has been relatively little work focusing on scheduling blood donation sessions. The primary aim of this research is to provide a tool that allows the National Blood Service (the English and Welsh blood service) to schedule donation sessions so that collection targets are met in such a way that costs are minimised (the Blood Scheduling Problem). As secondary aims, the research identifies the key types of data that blood services should be collecting for this type of problem. Finally, various what-if scenarios are considered, specifically improv- ing donor attendance through paying donors and the proposed changes to the inter-donation times for male and female donors. The Blood Scheduling Problem is formulated as a Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) problem and solved using a variable bound heuristic. Data from the South East of England is used to create a collection schedule, with all further analysis also being carried out on this data set. It was possible to make improvements to the number of units under collected in the current schedule, moreover the number of venues and panels operated could be reduced. Further- more, it was found that paying donors to donate was uneconomical. Finally, changing the inter-donation times could lead to a reduction in the number of shortfalls, even when demand was increased by as much as 20%. Though the model is specific to England and Wales, it can easily be adapted to other countries’ blood services. It is hoped that this model will provide blood services with a model to help them better schedule donation sessions and allow them to identify the data necessary to better understand their performance.

Canada Customs is currently faced with problems of overcrowding. This situation causes lost revenue and potential control problems, and detracts from its public image. Customs administration is interested in determining what changes, if any, can be made to help alleviate the problem. The goal of this paper is to analyze several alternatives which are available to customs officials, and to recommend changes which can be implemented to improve the current situation. To achieve this goal, several applications of Management Science methods were performed. The first application involved a cost-benefit analysis of the Peace Arch Crossing Entry (PACE) Project. It was found that the PACE project has positive net benefits of approximately $9.5 million provided that it is supported by sufficient staff levels. Results of the cost-benefit analysis also indicate that the social benefits of having an extra staff member available far outweigh the costs involved. In the second application performed, multiple regression techniques were used to analyze various characteristics of travellers which affect service time within the customs office. As a result, it is recommended that customs officials look into the possibility of keeping certain groups of individuals (whose processing times are relatively low) separate from the main flow of travellers, in order to save these travellers a great deal of time. In the third application, simulation and animation were used to replicate the current situation in the Pacific Highway Customs Office. Experiments were then conducted to determine the optimal mix of regular terminals and Self Declaration System (SDS) terminals. It was found that implementing SDS was not as efficient as adding a new regular terminal. It is recommended that a study be conducted to determine by how much the times for SDS can be reduced. If significant reductions in time are not possible, it may be in the best interest of all concerned to revert the SDS terminals to regular terminals. / Business, Sauder School of / Graduate

The ability to create and implement sustainable business operations has become increasingly important for chemical firms to keep up with ever-growing consumer demands for sustainability. This thesis is an exploratory investigation designed to examine the strategic management processes made by top management of three chemical firms operating at different stages in the value chain as they respond to increasing consumer demands for sustainability. The implementation of specific structures and processes were studied to measure the extent these chemical firms have taken for sustainable operations. These indicators include corporate vision, mission, and goals, sustainability structure, product offerings, supply chain management, reporting, and external recognition. The literature supports the hypothesis that as consumer demands for sustainable products have increased, firms in the chemical industry have coevolved and adapted their strategic management processes to this new environment. This study examines the coevolution of increasing consumer demands for sustainability and their impact on organizations’ strategic management processes in firms in the chemical industry. Specifically, the study consists of a sample of three firms operating at different stages of the value chain-DowDuPont, Eastman, and Procter & Gamble, where data was gathered on the variables discussed above for each firm. The results of the case studies are expected to indicate that consumer preferences have pressured chemical firms to implement sustainable processes into their strategic management operations. The study concludes with hypotheses for future research.

Recent legislation by Medicare restricts its reimbursement per patient according to the patient's particular type of disease. The reimbursement is based on a set of Diagnosis Related Groups (DRG's), which categorizes patients into disease classifications. As a result, hospitals must make efficiency gains and managers must look for new ways to provide quality care while containing costs. A simulation technique was developed by which the financial results of particular administrative policies can be predicted. Patient billing data were collected over a three-month period and analyzed for the purpose of simulating length of stay and resource consumption per cost center. Regression analysis were used to approximate departmental costs as a function of length of stay and to estimate total cost as a function of certain departmental costs. Distribution-fitting techniques were used to determine the method of random generation for independent variables. The simulation model was run with two embellishments to illustrate how policies are interjected and results are interpreted.

<p>This study introduces a new model for the planar maximal covering location problem (PMCLP) under different block norms. The problem involves locating p facilities anywhere on the plane in order to cover the maximum number of n given demand points. The generalization we introduce is that distance measures assigned to facilities are block norms of different types and different proximity measures. This problem is handled in three phases. First, a simple model based on the geometrical properties of the block norms' unit ball contours is formulated as a mixed integer program (MIP). The MIP formulation is more general than previous PMCLP's and can handle facilities with different coverage measures under block norm distance and different setup cost, and capacity. Second, an exact solution approach is presented based on: (1) An exact algorithm that is capable of handling a single facility efficiently. (2) An algorithm for an equivalent graph problem--the maximum clique problem (MCP). Finally, the PMCLP under different block norms is formulated as an equivalent graph problem. This graph problem is then modeled as an unconstrained binary quadratic problem (UQP) and solved by a genetic algorithm. Computational examples are provided for the MIP, the exact algorithm, and the genetic algorithm approaches.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

<p>This study describes algorithms for the solution of several single facility location problems with maximin or minimax objective functions. Interactive computer graphical algorithms are presented for maximizing the minimum rectilinear travel distance and for minimizing the maximum rectilinear travel distance to a number of point demands when there exist several right-angled polygonal barriers to travel. For the special case of unweighted rectilinear distances with barriers, a purely numerical algorithm for the maximin location problem is described. An interactive computer graphical algorithm for maximizing the minimum Euclidean, rectilinear, or general l$\sb{\rm p}$ distance to a number of polygonal areas is described. A modified version of this algorithm for location problems with the objective of minimizing the maximum cost when the costs are non-linear monotonically decreasing functions of distance is presented. Extension of this algorithm to problems involving the minimization of the maximum cost when the costs are functions of both distance and direction is discussed using asymmetric distances.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)